Leaving Seattle 16 August 2015

We checked out of our Holiday Inn Express with our abundant luggage in order to head south for the last two days.  I had to walk and pick up a rental car--no problem right?  Wrong.  Any rental car place near the water front is a nightmare on the weekends, I soon learned.  There are hundreds of people coming and going from cruise ships and it was packed.  My customer service time was less than 10 minutes, but I was there for over 2 hours! Amazingly, the staff stayed patient and cheerful and offered to tweak my pick-up time to make it cheaper and threw in a tank of gas--so I didn't bother filling up on the way back which was nice.

And this is why I got a minivan for a couple days.  Too many bags!

We were going to hit the Woodlawn Park Zoo, but after driving through 3 packed parking lots and seeing dozens of others circling, we decided to bag it and just head south.  After a lunch stop, we got a call from Matt and he suggested checking out Point Defiance Park.  It was fantastic.  The kids started with frisbee on the lawns, followed by tree climbing.  I got impatient waiting, so walked across the path to check out the rose garden.

I wish I had something to show the scale of these trees.  The lowest branches were many feet above my head.  

Ah, Makenna.

Set up for another wedding!

I eventually talked them into walking towards the water and forest in search of berries and geocaches.  

Quick playground distraction.

They found the creepiest...fish?  Pictures below.  

Calming and lovely to look out at the water, but we turned around and went into the woods.  

Location of one of the geocaches we found. 

Another geocache.  I actually found this one!

Time for berries.  We got several handfuls of delicious ripe ones, but there were thousands of unripe ones that just teased. 

Balance was a little tricky.

They were playing on the rocks right down there a couple hours before.  Now its covered in a few feet of water.  Tides!  Now waves, but the tides are serious business.  

I finally drug them away around 7pm.  We had a view of Mt. Rainier as we finished the drive to Puyallup.  First time since we had clouds the first 5 days.  The kids had tentatively scheduled an online gaming date with David and we still hadn't checked into our hotel--in fact it was another 20 minute drive.  We got there, Jess and I ran out to get a few hiking snacks and sandwiches for dinner.  Then she swam while I popped in and out doing laundry while Isaac and Makenna battled on AoE.  

Ranger Falls and Green Lake August 17, 2015

For our last full day in America in 2015, we drove to Mt Rainier National Park after breakfast to spend a day hiking in a rain forest.  The sky was clear and the view was gorgeous.  It was about an hour drive to get to the parking area to start of the hike.  We didn't arrive till after 10 and had another clue that we weren't in Colorado any more.  There were only 3 other cars there!  We had picked up a map from the rangers' station when we paid our entrance fee and could see LOTS of possible future hikes if we ever get a chance to live in the area.  I only had my iPhone, so while the pictures look amazing on my screen, they are not wonderful blown up extra large, sigh.  It's a shame because it was just a beautiful day.

"The mountain was out" for our last two days of the week.  This was the view on our morning drive. 

 

This picture quality is really crumby, but we were just doing a bit of the upper left--a little under 10 miles total.  First 3 were on an old road, then the last 2 climb 100'.  

I read the guidelines for what to do if you see a bear or mountain lion and wondered if I should tell the kids so they are aware, or not say anything so Jess wouldn't run back to the car.  I did tell them, but despite the fact that we only saw 6 other people all day, we were so loud that the wildlife stayed away.  

I will now just put in a bunch of ridiculously beautiful pictures.  We loved all the green!  

Trees dripping with moss.

There was plenty evidence of violent pasts.  I can't imagine how loud the crack was when this fell over.  These trees are massive. 

This tangled root enclosed cave made us think of Fablehaven.

They aren't the Redwoods, but they have been in America longer than any white person.  

I don't know if they fall from wind or age or...?

Ranger Falls

My cozy girl still likes mom hugs. 

It's spongy and soft and impossibly green.

The water at Green lake is perfectly clear and glacier cold.  Good thing it was an unusually hot day. 

It took a $10 bribe to get Isaac to agree to jump in, but it was worth it.  Video upon request. 

Drying on the warm log. 

After two "swims", he put on all the dry clothes he had, plus an extra shirt and hat.  

Jess did a very fast dunk too.  No swimming, but she was braver than Kenna or I.  Kenna was braver than I and stuck her legs in.  

Isaac had the wet clothes hanging from his pack. 

Back at the trail head, we had a 3 mile pretty flat walk back to the car.  Fewer pictures as everyone's feet got more tired.  

Look at this twisted log.  

This is a huge root system at the base of a fallen tree.  Those are rather big river rocks stuck all over.  

Slugs should not be this big--Isaac's big hand for scale. 

Time to go find dinner, go back, do the last load of laundry and pack up for the flight tomorrow.